Simi Valley animal shelter open for adoptions

Simi Valley animal shelter volunteers Cheryl Klepper (left) and Anna Hernandez prepare some of the smaller dogs that will be available for adoption.

Ventura County Star

Chico, a silky terrier/poodle mix, is one of many dogs and cats waiting to be adopted at the Simi Valley animal shelter. The shelter changed in July from a holding space to an adoption facility.

Ventura County Star

Lori Brown and her children, Isabella and Cole, visit the Simi Valley animal shelter to look for a companion for their dog, Rusty. Animal controller Kelli Hipple and shelter volunteer Cheryl Klepper (right) are on hand to answer questions about the animals.

Ventura County Star

Simi Valley animal shelter volunteer Cindi Whitcomb brings Rocco past the Wall of Fame of animals that have been adopted at the shelter since it changed from a holding space to an adoption facility in July. More than 70 animals have been adopted from the shelter.

Ventura County Star

Donna Gillesby wants to find them all homes for the holidays, "them" being the cats, dogs and rabbits lodged at the Simi Valley animal shelter.

So for the first time in many years, the animals are available for adoption.

Gillesby, interim Ventura County Animal Services director, said since 1996, all adoptions were held in the county's larger Camarillo facility, but so many animals needed homes in the shelter system that her office is trying to make it as simple as possible for people to adopt.

"We have to have more adoptions and I have to have the animals in new places," Gillesby said.

The dogs available for adoption — those who are not waiting for owners to pick them up — are animals the shelter's officers believe will be easily socialized. They are brought into groups with other dogs to play and interact. Age is not a factor, only behavior. When the officers believe they've found good candidates for adoption, they bring the animals to Camarillo where they are spayed or neutered if needed, implanted with microchips and given their shots. Then it's back to Simi where they will wait for a new "forever home," as Gillesby said.

"We invest in the animals," she said. "The animals are chosen on their behavior and how well they get along with other animals. It's the ones that tug on the officers."

Almost every one of the dogs and cats at the Simi shelter came from homes. Gillesby said owners are dropping them off or abandoning them.

"We're inundated with animals, and they don't stop coming," she said. Gillesby said staff members often are able to track down the owner, as many cats and dogs have chips implanted, but they can't get the owners to come pick up their animals. Usually, it's a matter of money, not the animal's behavior, she said.

"Only 25 percent of the (microchipped) animals get reclaimed," she said, and that's mostly dogs. "It's very rare for cats to be reclaimed."

There is usually a $120 fee for adopting, but for December, the shelter is only charging $60 for the adopting fee, only at the Simi shelter. Gillesby said she knows this is the slowest time of the year for pet adoptions and she wants her temporary charges to find good, loving homes. For dogs that are adopted, the shelter also provides six weeks of obedience classes.

Gillesby is trying to do whatever she can, she said, to prevent having to euthanize the animals.

"That's the alternative we're trying hard to avoid, having to euthanize for space reasons," she said. "We have lots of new programs coming up that we're going to put into place. Foster programs and other things the department hasn't done before."

Laura Beth Heisen is a longtime animal volunteer. After years of helping in the Los Angeles animal shelters, she's come to Simi Valley to lend a hand. She said the Simi shelter is well-run.

"They actually try," she said. "They are trying to save lives. They are trying to cooperate with the public. They have the right attitude about how to make things work."

The Agoura Hills resident said many people mistakenly believe animals in the shelters are brought in because of behavior issues.

"Animals get surrendered to animal shelters through no fault of their own," she said. "Their owners may have lost a home or job. There are so many sad reasons why all of these animals are left at the shelters."

She said another thing to consider about adopting from the shelters is the great variety of animals found there.

"You can find purebreeds or adorably unique mixes," she said. "If you want one to be calm, you don't look for a calm breed. You look for an older animal. Whatever your lifestyle preferences, you can find an animal for it at the shelter."